UK govt, BSE launch carbon index project

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in collaboration with the UK government launched the first ever ‘Carbon Indexing Project’ on Thursday. Minister of state for environment, Sachin Ahir and Britain’s minister for climate change Gregory Barker inaugurated the project along with Madhu Kannan, managing director and CEO of the BSE. Nikhil M Ghanekar reports.

mumbaiUpdated: Nov 18, 2011 01:22 IST

Nikhil M Ghanekar Hindustan Times

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in collaboration with the UK government launched the first ever ‘Carbon Indexing Project’ on Thursday. Minister of state for environment, Sachin Ahir and Britain’s minister for climate change Gregory Barker inaugurated the project along with Madhu Kannan, managing director and CEO of the BSE.

The Carbon Indexing Project will use data from the ‘Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Report 2011 - India 200’ to rate BSE-listed companies on the basis of their carbon emissions and compare it to their performance on the stock exchange.

Barker released the CDP Report 2011 on November 15 at New Delhi. The Carbon Indexing Project will build up expertise in analysing risks and opportunities associated with climate change and carbon regulation. It will also give the investors a chance to compare the environmental and fiscal performance of companies listed on the BSE.

“A carbon index will highlight opportunities to companies on improving both their financial and environmental performance. Investors today are keen to understand the carbon risks of their investments. That will be key in driving interest in this Index,” said Barker. “There is an increasing risk of being dependent on fossil fuels.”

When asked about Britain’s plans to expand their nuclear power plants as opposed to renewable energy, Barker told HT, “Yes, we are expanding our nuclear power generation and also adding capacity to some old sites, but, we are also looking to become the Saudi Arabia in off-shore wind energy projects. So we are trying to balance our energy mix.”